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We describe an inquiry-based course in physics and chemistry for preservice K-8 teachers developed at California State University Fullerton. The course is one of three developed primarily to enhance the science content understanding of prospective teachers. The course incorporates a number of innovative instructional strategies and is somewhat unusual for its interdisciplinary focus. We describe the course structure in detail, providing examples of course materials and assessment strategies. Finally, we provide research data illustrating both the need for the course and the effectiveness of the course in developing student understanding of selected topics. Student responses to various questions reflect a lack of understanding of many relatively simple physical science concepts, and a level of performance that is usually lower than that in comparable courses serving a general education audience. Additional data suggest that course activities improve student understanding of selected topics, often dramatically.

This article is published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. The citation is: M. Loverude, B. Gonzalez, and R. Nanes, Inquiry-based course in physics and chemistry for preservice K-8 teachers, PRST-PER 7 (1), 010106 (2011), 10.1103/PhysRevSTPER.7.010106.